Research

Learning disabilities and attention deficit disorders among tertiary students: Prevalence, symptoms, coping and learning strategies

Responsible researcher: doc. Mgr. Lenka Sokolová, PhD.

VEGA 1/0119/21

Learning disabilities and attention deficit disorders have long been considered typical only in childhood and adolescence. However, the presumption that they tend to disappear in adulthood has already been refuted by several studies. The main goal of the this project is to carry out research focused on the analysis of coping and learning strategies and the occurrence of symptoms of developmental learning disabilities and attention deficit disorders among tertiary education students. The mixed-method research design of the project allows us to obtain a more comprehensive psychological image of the students with learning disabilities and attention deficit disorders in tertiary education. The final triangulation of quantitative and qualitative anamnestic and self-assessment data will lead to the creation of a two-dimensional model of transition and adjustment of those individuals in the university setting.

 

PUBLIC TRUST, RESILIENCE, AND PERCEIVED THREAT COVID-19

Responsible researcher: prof. Mgr. Martin Kanovský, PhD.

APVV-COVID-20-0074

Slovak citizens’ perceptions of threat posed by COVID-19 and the citizens’ trust in measures taken against the pandemic are examined by Martin Kanovský, Júlia Kanovská Halamová, Danijela Jerotievič, Katarína Křížová, Katarína Greškovičová, Martina Baránková and Bronislava Strnádelová of ÚAP and ÚSA housed in the Faculty of Social and Economic Sciences UK. Based on their analysis, the researchers will propose practical ideas to cope with the pandemic that will lead to increased public trust related to COVID-19 measures. The researchers will also consider the collected data within an international context.

 

Discerning Trustworthy News in Secondary School Students: The Relationship Among Conspiracy Beliefs, Scientific Literary and Authoritarianism

Responsible researcher: doc. PhDr. Radomír Masaryk, PhD.

VEGA 1/0641/19

Previous research (The Stanford History Education Group) has shown that pupils cannot properly discern untrustworthy messages. However, current approaches to increasing critical thinking in secondary school students are often based on intuitive assumptions rather than being evidence-based. Despite the honest effort by their authors such interventions do not have to achieve the desired effect, they can even send out unintentional messages, or give rise to general mistrust among the pupils. Our objective is to find out which variables relate to the ability to discen trustworthy reports, focusing primarily on the following: Conspiracy Beliefs, Scientific Literacy, and Authoritarianism. As specific instruments we plan to use The Scientific Literacy Scale, The Generic Conspiracy Beliefs Scale, and The Right-Wing Authoritarianism Scale by Altemeyer. We also plan to use qualitative methods (interviews, focus groups and log-keep), a correlation study on a larger sample, and an experiment. 

 

Social representations of dementia and their implications for the support of cognitive health in Slovakia

Responsible researcher: prof. PhDr. Jana Plichtová, PhD.

APVV-17-0536

Dementia is diagnosed late in our country, resulting in the impossibility of helping patients and their families. The cause may be that dementia is associated with fear, stigma, or even the metaphor of "living death". The goal of the project is to explore dementia-related social representations of relevant target groups and to identify barriers to seeking help in people with dementia symptoms. Understanding how people perceive the issue of cognitive health and its counterpart - dementia - is important in answering a question about their subsequent behavior when seeking help. The research methodology covers a wide range of qualitative methods of examining social representations specific to target groups of participants - the general public, health workers, people with dementia and their relatives. The aim of the research is to develop a model of aid search and intervention in the form of an awareness campaign to help combat the dehumanization, discrimination and stigmatization that people with dementia in our society are experiencing on a daily basis.

 

INTERCULTURAL ASPECTS OF COMPASSION, SELF-COMPASSION, AND SELF-CRITICISM AND TESTING OF THEIR IMPACT

Responsible researcher: doc. Mgr. Júlia Kanovská Halamová, PhD.

VEGA 1/0075/19

The project aims to examine the constructs of compassion and self-compassion in different cultures and add to the intercultural comparison of relevant scales. As a part of the project, we will test other intervention options aimed at increasing the level of compassion and self-compassion, and reducing self-criticism, while also focusing on their use to reduce prejudice against stigmatized minorities. The research project uses both quantitative and qualitative methodologies and enriches them with objective measurement methodologies, such as eye-tracking and physiological indicators, such as heart rate variability and pupillometry to contribute to the timely and accurate diagnosis of people with high self-criticism. The project builds on our previous publishing activities and the currently ongoing research project VEGA Self-Criticism versus Self-Confirmation in the form of an internal monologue in the context of processing emotions and social competencies.